Date of Submission

Fall 2024

Academic Program

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Lothar Osterburg

Abstract/Artist's Statement

As the lace contoured her knees in mountainous silhouettes, she remembered the feeling of the sun before it was too hot…

A recurring image of a window in my work serves as a portal to dream worlds, harsh futures, or vacant spaces in time. Fenestra (plural: fenestrae), which translates to the Latin term for “window,” is defined in various fields as an artificial opening in architecture and a natural opening in anatomy. Windows – synthetic, constructed objects – transport us to distant forests, rivers, and skies. They deliver light into our homes and onto our skin, creating openings through which we can experience nature while existing in manufactured surroundings. Primarily, I intended to weave in moments of surreal imagery through these portrayed windows to create a narrative tension between a figure and her environment’s present and future.

I am fascinated by how a delicate textile, such as lace, falls gracefully over the body– slightly concealing yet never fully obscuring the skin underneath. I see a dynamic energy in how light moves through the folds, and onto the skin. This energy is an active, flowing intensity that highlights how the textile sculpturally contours the torso and legs. Many of the figures I depict are defined by these moments, subtly veiled by layers of lace and fabric. Over time, I began to incorporate elements of printmaking into my paintings, creating a dialogue between the two mediums and defining the fabric more vividly.

Painting enables me to combine imaginary worlds with existing moments that appreciate and acknowledge the landscape, my friends, and the beauty of their connection. In my own moments of imagining, I see a sweeping stretch of flourishing trees, the bluest of all skies, the soil as deep and rich as the sun… I see a thriving Earth– one that will not decay in the face of changing climates. My landscape paintings serve as a window to my relationship of growing up with the Hudson Valley, and they have connected me to my childhood memories of swimming in icy mountain streams, hiking the Catskills, or catching summer sunsets over the tops of the Hudson Valley trees.

The Hudson Valley landscape has been, and continues to be, both a privilege and a profound source of gratitude in my personal growth. Living in the landscape has strengthened my understanding of its history, present, and future. Its foliage and fauna have intricately woven themselves into my youth, leaving an imprint that presently resonates in my artwork. Terrae (Latin): Earth. A world where the struggle to perceive the land's reality coexists with the clarity of its beauty– a beauty that I observe with greater precision through art.

The Hudson Valley– the ancestral homeland of the Munsee Lenape people who historically inhabited this region.

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